For Rebel One we take pride in elevating entrepreneurs wherever they are. In our ecosystem research report on Austin we identify the venture capitalists, incubators, accelerators, startups, and other players that help the startup ecosystem flourish. Check out our latest report here.

1. Rebel One Ventures
Startup Ecosystem Analysis:
Austin, TX
Vrat Joshi, Analyst
Sergio Marrero, Managing Partner

2. City Snapshot
Population | 980K (2.3M Metro Area)
Unemployment | 12.2% (2020)
(~3.5% historically | 2019)
GDP | $146.8B
Education System
27 Colleges, 180K+ Students
Top Programs:
University of Texas at Austin (UT)
Red McCombs School of Business UT
Cockrell School of Engineering | UT
St. Edwards University
Acton School of Business
Huston-Tillotson University
A Bird’s Eye View
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Sources: Austin Chamber of Commerce (Economic Development) (Education Overview), US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Austin, TX

3. Venture Capital Ecosystem
Funding Statistics
VC Investment: $2.2B, 263 deals
U.S. Deal Share: ~1.61%
VC Investment per Capita: $957
Top Investment Sectors:
Software (Cybersecurity, AI), Fire Tech
(Finance, Insurance, Real Estate),
Consumer Products, Defense,
Enterprise SaaS, Cleantech
Macroeconomics of the VC Space
Sources: Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor, Startup Genome, AustinInno, Austin Chamber of Commerce, Crunchbase
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Ecosystem Observations
» Austin is a HQ for the US Army Futures Command and center for accelerating defense
innovation investments in startup technologies
» Increased movement of Tech growth (Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Facebook, and Google)
» Deal numbers are less than Chicago, but overall investments were more
» One of the fastest growing metropolitan areas (by economy and population)
» Although there were bets for a slow second quarter, Austin has still noted a robust
investment period but with less deals - this suggests larger rounds for more established
companies to take on less risk - (Austin had 56 deals lowest since Q2 2016 but a decent
$560M invested)
Austin, TX

4. Funding Options
Looking into the Investors
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Venture
Capital
Angels &
Angel Groups
Accelerators &
Incubators
Blue Sage Capital, LiveOak
Venture Partners, Silverton
Partners, Elsewhere Partners,
S3 Ventures, Quake Capital,
Moonshots Capital, Vista
Equity Partners (PE), Sante
Ventures, Next Coast
Ventures, Ecliptic Capital,
Notley Ventures
David Cohen, Joshua Baer,
Arun Prakash, Asad Zafar,
Jared Solsberg, Andrew
Busey, Cameron Drummund,
Rob Taylor, Mellie Price,
Michael Dell, Robert Smith,
Central Texas Angel Network,
Southwest Angel Network
Accelerate at Capital Factory,
Techstars, Sputnik ATX, SKU,
International Accelerator,
Bunker Labs, Texas Venture
Labs, Give Inc., Venture
Fellows, DivInc.
Sources: Founder Institute
Austin, TX

5. Startup Media Channels:
Built in Austin, Austin Startups, AustinInno, Startup
Digest Austin
Meetups / Community Organizations:
SXSW Conference, Austin Diversity in Tech, Austin
Hardware Startup, Female Founders ATX,
Hackernest, ReThink, AUTM
Other Resources
Co-Working Spaces:
Capital Factory, Impact Hub Austin, Createscape,
Incubator CTX, Fibercove, Industrious, Vessel
Coworking, WeWork, Common Desk
Founder Resources to Gain Knowledge
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Sources: Founder Institute
Austin, TX

6. Current Leaders & Rising Players
Largest Companies (Market Cap)*:
Activision Blizzard, Amazon, AMD, Apple, Charles
Schwab, Dell, Facebook, Indeed, Kendra Scott,
National Instruments, Oracle, Silicon Labs, Visa,
Vrbo, Whole Foods, Yeti
*Major corporate HQ or regional offices
Notable High-Tech Ventures Started:
Dell (Computer Hardware/Software), Indeed (Media &
Information Services), RetailMeNot (Business Discounts),
Silicon Labs (Semiconductor), HomeAway (Rental
Services), Bumble (Social Media), Anaconda (Database
Software), Favor (Food & Personal Delivery),
WP Engine (Internet Software)
Who Dominates the Austin Economy?
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Sources: Austin Chamber of Commerce (HQ’s), Pitchbook
Austin, TX

7. Economic Activity
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Software & Consumer Products Lead the Way
Recent M&A & IPO’s:
» Movoto, OJO Labs | Undisclosed
» Whole Foods, Amazon| $13.7B
» Rivet Networks, Intel | Undisclosed
» HomeAway*, Expedia | $3.9B
» Opcity, Move | $210M
» Favor, H-E-B | Undisclosed
» Main Street Hub, GoDaddy | $126M
» RetailMeNot, Harland Clarke | $630M
» XOXOCO, Microsoft | Undisclosed
» Vital Farms IPO (VITL) | 958M MC
» Brigham Minerals IPO (MNRL) | $317M MC
» BigCommerce IPO Filing (BIGC) | ~$1B(MC)
Top Ranked Startups:
» Athena Security | Security Equipment
» ICON Build | Construction & Tech
» Diligent Robotics | Healthcare Tech (AI)
» RigUp | Workforce Management
» Rocket Dollar | Financial Tech
» Hitch | Ride Sharing
» Firefly Aerospace | Space & Defense
» OJO Labs | Virtual Real Estate
» The Zebra | Automotive Insurance
» Dropoff | Logistics
» Homeward | Real Estate
» Hypergiant | AI Services
(Acquired, Acquiree | Deal Value), Market Cap (MC) at IPO, HomeAway rebranded to Vrbo
Sources: Austin Business Journal, Pitchbook, Crunchbase, Mercer Capital
Austin, TX

8. Map / Region Insights:
» Major venture players are highly concentrated
around “Lady Bird Lake” and primarily around
downtown Austin, near the University of Texas
at Austin
» Average investments around $11.55M, up 22%
over 2018
» Late Stage, Early Stage increasing as opposed
to Seed (Series-C most popular)
» Largest funding round by a Texas Company
(RigUp - Series D ($300M)) - 2019
» Among the most active VCs - Silverton
Partners and Ecliptic Capital
» Ranked Top 20 in Global Startup Ecosystems
Area Insights
Venture Capital Accelerator / Incubator Co-Working
Sources: Brian Williams, Wayne and Reed, http://wayneandreed.com/; *Austin Chamber of Commerce
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Analyzing the Geographic and Economic Reach Austin, TX

9. Feedback from locals immersed in the ecosystem:
» There is a live, active entrepreneurial environment focused on impact in Austin,
largely driven by the city’s culture and The University of Texas.
» Events such as SXSW really push and emphasize Austin’s outlook on
entrepreneurship as well as highlighting how connected and supportive the city
is. This take adds to the well-known culture of Austin.
» Many groups of investors and founders are fragmented into smaller communities
and there is an opportunity for them to work more closely together to elevate
the entire Austin ecosystem.
Analysis
Subject Matter Expert: Brian Williams
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Insight from Local Subject Matter Experts Austin, TX

10. The venture capital ecosystem in Austin is growing rapidly and increasing in presence on
the global stage, catalyzed by the annual conference SXSW. With many historic success
stories and with new companies like ICON Build making a remarkable name for itself, the
city of Austin creates change and makes impact (cleantech) by heavily focusing on
cybersecurity, firetech, enterprise SaaS, and consumer products. The city has more
recently caught the eyes of venture capital investors leading to a higher investment per
capita ratio when compared to other cities: this is likely driven by the creative economy of
Austin. One worry many investors have is that due to the young market that Austin is,
there is a limited history of startups becoming public companies like Dell, and as a result,
there is a greater emphasis on being loosely acquired. Another issue the city faces is that
with no other major startup region in close proximity, it can be challenging to bring large
corporate executives down to the South; however, in a more positive light, there has been
an influx of investors and talent from California (in the last year or two) coming due to the
lower cost of living, weather, objectiveness in valuation, and creative community that
Austin supports i.e. “Keep Austin Weird.” As Austin moves forward, it is important for the
city to maintain these advantages and stick to its culture as the ecosystem matures.
Sources
Interviews: Brian Williams
https://fi.co/insight/the-guide-to-the-austin-startup-ecosystem-250-resources-for-entrepreneurs,
https://www.americaninno.com/austin/funding/vc-funding-report-austin-startups-raised-2b-plus-in-2019/?mc_cid=0224df92ba&mc_eid=7507555c4c,
https://www.austinchamber.com/economic-development, https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.tx_austin_msa.htm, https://www.crunchbase.com/hub/austin-startups#section-acquisitions,
https://mercercapital.com/energyvaluationinsights/brigham-minerals-ipo-brings-spotlight-to-oil-gas-market/, https://startupgenome.com/reports/global-startup-ecosystem-report-2019
https://www.flaticon.com/, https://news.crunchbase.com/news/austin-reaches-top-10-in-us-venture-markets-with-record-funding-in-2019/,
https://www.americaninno.com/austin/funding/report-fewer-vc-deals-in-austin-in-q2/,
https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/03/the-extreme-geographic-inequality-of-high-tech-venture-capital/552026/
Analysis
State of the Market Austin, TX